


Fighting Back the Darkness

by MisfitWriter



Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 17:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4188570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisfitWriter/pseuds/MisfitWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Officer William Gorski was nothing if not resourceful.  Let’s face it…you don’t survive as a cop on the streets of Chicago without being able to improvise and take advantage of whatever aid your situation might give you.  </p>
<p>Starts mid-finale, continues beyond the episode.  The Cluster comes together to protect their own and get ahead of Whispers.</p>
<p>All canon couples will be included, but primarily Blueski (Wiley?) will be featured.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m a little in love with this show, particularly Will and Riley. This story includes all of the Sensates and all of the canon couples, but will have a strong undertone of their relationship throughout. Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Disclaimer: Not mine

Officer William Gorski was nothing if not resourceful. Let’s face it…you don’t survive as a cop on the streets of Chicago without being able to improvise and take advantage of whatever aid your situation might give you. Maybe that played into his ability to take the backseat in his own mind, to allow the others to step in seamlessly and get the job done. Will was not afraid to accept his limitations and embrace those strengths in his cluster, and it hadn’t taken the eight of them long to trust each other and reach out for help. Sometimes it was instinctual, like when he’d experienced Riley’s suffocation and took over to save her, or when Sun stepped in and took over to take out the guards. Sometimes it started as observing and giving advice, and then turned into working together, like when Whispers went after Nomi. The more they became comfortable with each other’s skills, the easier it was to just think of what needed to be done, and _boom_. Shit got done.

The moment that his eyes met Whispers’ in the elevator, though…Will knew that he was _screwed_. His body went rigid, and his blood ran cold. Will faintly heard Nomi asking him what was wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to reply. The son of a bitch would hunt him down, would try to get to the rest of his cluster through him. And no way in hell was he letting that happen. He had to protect them…these seven other parts of his soul. He had to protect _Riley_.

If he couldn’t save her, nothing else would matter. All his life, Will had been skeptical of the notion of soul mates…until he met her inside that church. The wonder shining in her eyes when he told her she was in America had taken his breath away, and he’d found himself inexplicably drawn to her ever since. He was closely bonded to their entire cluster, but it felt like Riley’s spirit resonated in him. When he’d finally found her, he’d been terrified to touch her, as if it would shatter a dream and he’d end up being too late to save her. The time he’d spent without her presence in his mind had been torture…he’d become so accustomed to hearing and _feeling_ seven other people that when one was silenced…when  that voice was silenced, it physically ached all throughout his body.

It wasn’t until he felt Capheus take over that Will realized he’d basically switched to autopilot. They’d made it to the ambulance, and he watched as his perpetually-optimistic counterpart jumpstarted the rig before returning control to the officer. Hope sparked in him for a moment when they made it off of the complex, but it wasn’t long before the helicopter caught up to them and Whispers was in his ear, taunting him. Whispers told him that he knew Will didn’t have it in him to kill all of them, and he was right. Will couldn’t sacrifice Riley’s life because of _his_ failure.

_**If he knows anything about me, he’ll know that I**_ **do _have it in me_** **.** Wolfgang allowed his plan to play across Will’s mind, and that’s all it took for Will to grant him control. Whispers wouldn’t be able to tell that the German was bluffing…because if it came down to it, Will told him to follow through with it. Whispers wouldn’t give the others the chance to rescue both him and Riley, and he would rather all of them deal with the loss and move on than risk them getting captured as well and made into lab rats.

The events of the next five minutes would certainly go down as the most _fucked up_ five minutes of his life. He barely had time to register and respond to Riley’s terror before they were both caught up in an insane reenactment of the crash that took her husband and newborn baby from her. It all happened so fast that Will was amazed they didn’t crash. The second the flashbacks stopped he pulled over the van, and Riley bolted.

With a curse, Will took off after her, calling her name. Riley stumbled up to the top of a hill and fell to her knees, folding her arms as if she was holding something. _**She’s still caught up in the memory**_ , he realized. Will dropped to his knees in front of her, reaching out in an attempt to ground her to reality. He tried to reassure her, but Jonas and Angelica both appeared to him, pushing him to protect them like Angelica had done. When he returned his gaze to Riley, he found himself drawn back into her memory, where her hair was no longer vibrantly blonde and she was cradling a still baby to her chest. The agony of her loss felt like knives to his heart, and he dropped his forehead to hers.

“It’s okay, Will. I was supposed to die here.” Her acceptance bled into his mind, and before he knew it, Will was on his feet with his gun in his hand. He wasn’t sure if he was going to end her life or his own…maybe both…but just as quickly, he snapped back to reality and tossed the weapon away. There had to be another way to beat this, to protect the others from Whispers. There had to be a way to sever the man’s access to him—

The psychic connection was blocked when a person was unconscious. Unlike sleeping, where they could still access feelings, unconsciousness left a total void like had happened with Riley. Whispers wouldn’t be able to access his thoughts if he were knocked out. As he ran back to the ambulance, Will called on Kala, who guided him and wished him luck. She promised to reach out to the others once she was able to connect with Riley again, and sat with him while he prepared the needle and injected himself with the sedative. The officer felt the darkness creeping in quickly, and prayed he could get through to Riley before it was too late.

“Riley…” abruptly he was kneeling before her again, this time cradling her face in his hands. “Whispers saw me. He’s in my head. As long as I’m unconscious he can’t see what I see…that’s why I shot up with all those drugs. In a minute I’m gonna be unconscious. Our only chance is if you get in that ambulance and drive us out of here.” He watched her for a few seconds, fear gripping him at the way she continued to stare off with tears in her eyes. “Riley…if you don’t, we’re all gonna die.”

“I can’t,” she breathed, finally meeting his eyes. “I can’t.” Suddenly they were in the snow again, and the overwhelming emotions assaulted him. “I can’t leave her.”

Tears streamed down Will’s face unchecked, and he gently cradled the baby’s head. “Riley, please,” he begged.

“I’m so sorry, Will…I can’t do it,” she sobbed, pressing her lips to Luna’s forehead and rocking gently back and forth.

He watched her silently for a moment, back in reality, fighting to gather his composure and hold off unconsciousness just a little bit longer. He reached out for her again, and Riley’s chocolate eyes returned to his. “I know how much it hurts. You want to lay down here and never get up again. I know it because I feel it.” They flashed briefly back to the memory, and he pressed his forehead to hers once more. “ _I can feel it_ ,” he whimpered. “That means…somehow, somewhere, you can feel what I’m feeling too.” Clarity was slowly returning to Riley’s eyes as she listened to him, and he felt her begin to allow his emotions to wash over hers. “I love you. That’s why I can’t give up. _I love you_.” With his declaration, one he’d been holding in since their first kiss in his apartment, he leaned forward and tugged her close. Before his lips touched hers Will hesitated, praying that he’d been able to get through to her. Relief flooded him when she closed the gap between them, and he poured as much love as he could into their embrace.

The pull of darkness finally won out, and he sunk into oblivion, her thoughts of reciprocation floating across his mind before he gave in.

\---

The next time he felt awareness returning, Will had to wonder for a moment if he was still alive. A soft voice in his ear was singing a beautiful lullaby, fingers were tracing lightly through his hair, and it felt as though he were slowly swaying. He listened for a moment as he came further out of his sedation, and realized that he’d heard the song before in Riley’s memories.

Her hands came to rest gently on his shoulder and chest, and the singing stopped. Will opened his eyes slowly, the brightness of the sun overwhelming him at first. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that they were on a boat, but he didn’t want to wonder beyond that in case Whispers tried to use the information to find them.

Riley smiled tenderly down at him, stroking his hair and jaw once more. Will cursed the man that had put them in this predicament. They’d _just_ found one another, _just_ touched and kissed for the first time not in their minds, and now…who knew how long it would take to find a way to get rid of Whispers so that Will could have his life back.

“Is he sick?”  Will kept his gaze trained away from the man speaking, not wanting to put him at risk as well. He was too groggy to try to connect with Riley, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar from various memories of her life in Iceland.

“No, he’s okay,” Riley assured gently. She returned her gaze to him for a moment, and he could read the guilt and pain in her eyes as she reached for the already-prepped needle. Part of him wished he could tell her to wait, to give them a few minutes together, but the more lucid he became, the greater the risk of Whispers finding him again. “Everything’s okay.” The sting of the needle was dulled, but the effects of the drug kicked in right away. Riley cradled his jaw, stroking his cheek tenderly with her thumb and leaning in until they were almost nose to nose.

Will fought to cling to consciousness for a moment longer, needing to tell her that he was proud of her. “You did it,” he breathed. “You saved us.”

The words stole what was left of his strength, and when she pressed her lips to his, he hoped that she could feel him try to kiss her back. In that instant, as darkness took him away again, peace settled over him. They would beat Whispers…they would get their lives back…he would spend his life proving to Riley that he would not leave her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am completely unsure about this chapter. Next chapter will go into what happens after the finale, I promise! Please let me know what you think about this so far?

One moment his hands were cradling her face and his lips were pressing ardently to hers, as if it were the last time he would have the opportunity, and the next, his touch vanished and she was alone at the top of the hill. The emptiness left behind felt like a terrible void, and it snapped Riley out of her daze. No longer was she lost in the memory of the day her world shattered around her…the snow was also gone, leaving a lingering echo of the freezing cold of that terrible night.

Riley pushed herself to her feet, knees shaking slightly. As she stumbled back down the hill, she could see Will’s silhouette inside the cab of the ambulance. Love and determination filled her at the sight of him…he’d come to save her, and fought to protect her even after he’d been compromised by Whispers. He’d trusted her to get them out of this after he drugged himself…and she’d be _damned_ if she gave up on him. She hadn’t gotten the chance to return his sentiment before the drugs stole him away from her, but she knew with every fiber of her being that she _loved_ him. Will was the one to draw her away from her self-destructive life…the first one to make her feel like more than an empty shell just drifting through the days. She would not allow her hex to take him away too.

“Oh my God, Riley!” The white-haired woman gasped and skidded to a stop directly in front of Nomi, who wasted no time in throwing her arms around Riley’s neck. “You’re okay!”

“Yes, I am okay. I am sorry if I frightened you,” she breathed, allowing herself a moment to sink into the comfort of the embrace.

“After Will found you, the connection to you had just started to come back, and then just like that you were gone again, Will along with you. The last I saw him he looked terrified. I…I still can’t reach him. What happened?” Fear started to bleed into their connection, and Riley turned to look to the ambulance.

“Whispers saw him,” she murmured. “He…he sedated himself to block Whispers from finding us. Nomi, I…I do not know what to do, I have to get him out of here, but I don’t know the first thing about keeping him unconscious. I do not know how to keep him safe.” Tears welled in her eyes, and her throat constricted painfully.

“Slow down, just breathe, okay? Get in the ambulance, we will figure it out on the way out of here.” Riley nodded, and ran the rest of the way to the rig. As soon as she jumped in, Nomi appeared again, her focus briefly on Will. “Kala will know what to do to keep him under, she helped to wake you up in the hospital.” She tenderly stroked Will’s arm as if to let him know that he wasn’t alone. “Do you have a way to get out of Iceland?”

Riley thought for a moment, eyes staring ahead at the road as she sped along. “Yes,” she answered. “I have a way to get out without any record of us leaving. I do not know where we will go…”

Nomi nodded. “Getting away quietly is the first step. I’ll make some fake reports of you getting on a plane to America and going to…Boston. Chicago would put Will’s father at risk. Once you get where you’re going, call on Wolfgang…he’s got to get out of Germany and he can help keep you safe. Don’t tell the rest of us where you are, just in case Whispers finds one of us. We will be with you the whole way…you won’t be alone. We _will_ get him back.” She squeezed Riley’s shoulder reassuringly.

The Icelandic woman glanced over, her gaze shifting between the man she loved and her friend-- _sister_. A single tear slid down her cheek, before Riley took a shuddering breath and squared her shoulders. “We need a plan to sever his connection with Whispers.”

“One step at a time. Get somewhere safe first, and then we will get started on that son of a bitch.”

Riley nodded, and stepped harder on the gas pedal. She knew they were not far from town, and as soon as she was able to get off of this road she knew she’d be able to shake any lingering trace Whispers may have been able to follow. She was grateful that Nomi’s presence stayed with her. “I spent so long drifting through life, alone and feeling like an outsider. Then…then these seven other people became part of me. I never realized that once we were connected, each of you stayed with me all the time. Not until his voice was silenced in my mind.” She looked over to him. “I’d been afraid of allowing myself to love him. After he found me, though…when he actually _touched_ me for the first time, each of our meetings flashed through my mind. His touch triggered something in me…woke me up. Every time we’d been together before, no matter how real it felt, it was like an echo. Actually being together made our connection so much stronger.”

“We’re going to beat this, Riley. We will.”

\---

“Riley? What is going on, why are you…driving an ambulance?” Sven stepped off of his boat and looked from the rig to the petite woman. Riley glanced back to Will, and struggled to fight back tears. “Riles?” His hand came to rest gently on her shoulder, and she felt her resolve start to crumble.

She shuffled hesitantly to the ambulance, and touched the glass of the driver’s side door. “You remember when you told me that…if I needed help getting somewhere…to call you?” Her hand still braced against the window as if she could reach through it and touch Will, Riley turned back to Sven. He nodded silently, his gaze fixated on the still form in the passenger seat. “I need your help. _We_ need your help…please.”

Her lifelong friend nodded without hesitation. “Where do you need to go?” Sven’s unwavering support overwhelmed her, and she threw her arms around his neck with a sob. He returned the embrace, and this man that had been like an uncle all her life made her feel as though this nightmare was just that, if only for a moment…like she would step back and feel Will at her side, like she could reach out with her mind and feel his love as surely as she could reach out with her hand and feel his warmth.

The moment she stepped back, though, reality crashed into her once more.“Somewhere safe,” she whispered, glancing back at Will. Sven nodded, and strode around her to the passenger side of the ambulance. Riley watched silently as he glanced around them, opened the door, and eased Will onto his shoulder. The Icelandic man showed almost no effort in situating the police officer and lifting him out of the cab of the ambulance; Riley knew years of work on the ship kept him strong and sure of his footing. Sven nodded to her as he passed, and she followed him silently onto the back deck. After a second thought, Riley hesitated. “I…I will be right back. I forgot some things.” She was not nearly as sure-footed as her friend as she hurried back to the street; twice she stumbled, until a soft but steady hand grabbed her arms. “Riley,” a heavily accented voice murmured. “Take a breath. You must be careful not to drop the vials.” Riley looked up into Kala’s kind face and nodded, obeying her command and forcing herself to slow down. “He left them beside him with the needle…that will not last him more than a few days, but I will figure out a new supply while you focus on getting to safety.”

“Th-thank you, Kala.”

“We will be with you, we _will_ get through this together. Go.” Riley nodded without another word, gathered what she needed, and made her way back to the boat. Sven was waiting patiently for her, and gestured to a corner for them to rest. Riley quickly situated herself so that Sven could lower Will down to rest against her.

His weight pressing into her was almost reassuring as Sven prepared the boat to get underway. The absence of his presence in her mind was slowly becoming more and more pronounced, stealing away some of her focus, but she was determined to focus on his physical presence in her arms. She dropped a tender kiss to his forehead, and stroked his jaw. As Riley continued to gaze at Will’s face, her favorite lullaby drifted softly from her lips. So much of him reminded Riley of what she loved about her Magnus. The protective nature at the core of his spirit, the quiet strength and passion simmering beneath a cool facade. The way it seemed so easy for them to love her in spite of the trouble that seemed to hang over her like a dark shadow…in spite of her hesitance to love them back.

After losing Magnus, Riley had been so sure she would never love again. Grief had left her in a tailspin, wishing that she were dead and running away from everything. Will…Will was the first one to still her heart and open her eyes again. He reignited the fire for life she’d been sure had been extinguished. Holding him close felt like a dream…the fact that she was finally holding him and he was just beyond her reach, she realized, was her new worst nightmare.

As if reading her thoughts, the muscles in his jaw twitched. Riley stopped singing, and smiled tearfully down at him. Steel eyes slowly peeked out at her from beneath his lashes. “Is he sick?” Riley glanced up to Sven, who was finally done getting the boat ready.

“No, he’s okay.” Guilt seized her heart when she returned her gaze to the man in her arms. Will watched her silently, his eyes conveying his unwavering trust, and it felt as if her heart would shatter. Despite every fiber of her being screaming at her not to, she reached across and picked up the needle Kala had talked her through prepping. His breath seemed labored, and all she wanted was to make his pain disappear. “Everything is okay,” she murmured, though she wasn’t sure whom she was trying to convince more.

When she sunk the needle into his shoulder, he exhaled as if in relief, and allowed his head to drop to the side. As soon as she put the needle back down, Riley curled her body protectively over his and cradled his jaw with her hand. The tension melted from his body, and his weight became heavier against her. “You did it…you saved us.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, and struggled to maintain her composure when he was too weak to reciprocate. How was she supposed to do this on her own?! She was fooling herself in thinking she could protect Will…protect all of them.

_You are not alone, my friend._ As suddenly as Capheus’s voice filled her mind, she could feel six other people surrounding her on the deck of the boat. Riley looked up into the eyes of the other parts of her, and couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so relieved. They truly weren’t alone, and just like Nomi and Kala had promised, they would overcome this challenge together.

All of them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry that I was so late in posting this! It has been a crazy summer for me, but I promise I am going to try to do better!!

Riley watched anxiously from the door of the nondescript bedroom in the nondescript cabin in a nondescript town in Ireland as Sven rested Will carefully on the bed.  It had been a long three days on the water, and they were almost out of sedative. The others hadn’t left her alone for long while Will was unconscious, and she felt guilty for hiding the truth from Sven.  He’d been incredibly understanding, giving her space when she needed it and acting as her escape from the crushing pressure of what they were facing when she was ‘alone’. In that moment, though, the strong presence at her shoulder was more than welcome. 

 

“I’m on my way, I’m on a plane now and I’ll be there in two hours,” Wolfgang assured.  His eyes were trained on Sven, watching his every move with their counterpart, taking on Will’s role of protector.  Once he was settled, Wolfgang turned, squeezed Riley’s arm comfortingly, and vanished. His absence sent a shiver down her spine as though the temperature of the room had dropped.  Riley’s eyes drifted shut for a moment, and she took a breath to steady her shaky nerves.

 

Sven turned to face her, and his eyes spoke volumes. _What is wrong with him?  Why did you run from Iceland? What happened at your father’s performance? **What is going on?**_   To her staggering relief, though, he didn’t voice any of those questions. “Should I stay with you?”

 

With a watery smile, she shook her head. “We will be okay. Thank you, Sven…for everything you have done.  You deserve to know the truth, and I _promise_ that I will give it to you once we can get all of this sorted out.  But for now…” she sighed.  “For now, I need to know that you and my father are safe. Please, go…I will call you as soon as I can.”  His hands braced her arms as she teetered on her toes to kiss his cheek, and then he pulled her into a tight hug.  The tears pooling in her eyes slipped down her cheeks, and she buried her face in his shoulder for a moment.  “Goodbye, Sven.”

 

Riley watched as he smiled sadly and let himself out. Once she was alone with Will again, she sank to the mattress and ran her fingers through his short hair. Tears burned her eyes again, but she refused to allow them to fall.  “I miss you,” she whispered brokenly.

 

“Riley?” a timid, heavily-accented voice called from the doorway.  Kala and Nomi stood side by side, watching her with empathetic eyes.  She could feel their shared grief at seeing Will so vulnerable, but there was also an undercurrent of determination humming along their connection.  “We have an order at the local pharmacy waiting for you.  Once you return, I will be here to help you prepare the injections again.”

 

“The order is under the name Alaina McGlynn,” Nomi explained.  “You just need to give them that name, everything else is taken care of.”  Riley nodded with a weak smile.  “Once Wolfgang gets here and everything is situated, we are going to figure this out.  He won’t stay under forever.”  The reassurance in Nomi’s voice threatened to shatter her resolve, and Riley’s bottom lip quivered. The American strode forward and cupped Riley’s jaw with both hands.  “You are _not_ alone, we are all here with you, and we will get him through this.  Please don’t be afraid to lean on us…we can feel the strain of his absence already.  I know it’s worse for you, so please…let us support you.” 

 

Tears slid down Riley’s pale cheeks as she nodded. It had been far too long since she had allowed someone into her heart, let alone _seven_ someones.  Nomi pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, and smiled at her.  The moment was broken by the ringing of Will’s cellphone on the nightstand, and Riley turned away to check it.  Diego.  Will’s partner. For the third time since they left Iceland.  The DJ had to stop herself from answering the call, knowing it could give Whispers a chance to find them if he was tracking the people in Will’s life.  “Nomi…is there a way to mask the signal to this phone, so that Whispers cannot track it?” 

 

“I can make that happen…I’ll be back.” With that, she disappeared, and Kala smiled warmly at her.

 

“I’ll be okay, I will reach out when I get the pharmacy order,” Riley assured.  The Indian woman gave her a silent nod, and also vanished.  Turning once more, she took in the growing darkness under Will’s eyes.  The time spent sedated was weakening him, and watching him wither away was destroying Riley. It had only been three days, and they didn’t have even a semblance of a plan in place.  She needed help…she needed Wolfgang to get there because she could barely stand.  The void where Will’s presence had been was leaving her exhausted, and she wouldn’t be able to protect him if-

 

“Riley.”  Even though the voice was gentle and whispered from the door, Wolfgang’s presence in the room still startled her, and she couldn’t have been more thankful that it was Wolfgang standing in the hallway.  _Has it really been two hours? How did she not notice that much time passing?_   “I was hoping not to startle you…I knocked, and got worried when you didn’t answer.” Now that her full attention was on the German, she was able to recognize the hum of his presence in the air around her.  He was visiting her, still physically standing outside.  Riley leapt to her feet, but had to catch herself against the nightstand when the world tilted around her.  “Easy, easy, vogelchen,” Wolfgang murmured, hands gripping her elbows as she righted herself again. 

 

“I am okay, Wolf.  And I am _not a little bird_ , we were born at the same time,” Riley insisted with a tired smile. She shuffled to the door, and let him in.  Wolfgang scrutinized her as he entered the cabin, and she couldn’t help but fidget.

 

“You are most certainly a little bird. You make beautiful music…and you are so small I could fit you in this duffel bag and still have room for my clothes,” he teased lightly, successfully drawing a reluctant smile from her. “Ah, there it is.”

 

Riley ducked her head, and led him into the bedroom. Wolfgang gently checked his pulse as if Kala had taken over, and then turned to look at Riley once more. “I should go to the pharmacy,” she offered quietly.

 

“Riley, you nearly collapsed just a moment ago. You look nearly as worn down as Will, and I can feel how this is weighing on you.  Maybe I should go?”

 

Platinum blonde hair flipped as she shook her head. “You can do a much better job protecting him than I can if they were able to track him somehow. I will be fine.” He watched her silently for a moment before nodding with a sigh.  Riley smiled softly.  “No matter how hardened life has made you on the outside, Wolfgang, you have not allowed it to harden your heart.  Thank you.”

 

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I had no choice with you lot. I tried to hate him at first, you know…the American cop.  Everything I am supposed to hate.  But when he came for you…when your desperation brought us all together, when he begged you to hold on…and then in the ambulance, I could feel his love and determination to save you.  I…when his presence disappeared, I thought he’d killed himself.  Taken himself out of the equation.  When we felt him wake up on that boat, it had been…a relief,” he admitted.

 

“See? You are a good man at heart, my friend.”

 

The slight smirk fell from Wolfgang’s lips, and he turned his gaze back to the man lying on the bed.  “No, Riley.  _He_ is a good man.”  The pain in his eyes told Riley that the conversation was over, so she turned and headed for the door.  “Be careful, _vogelchen._ ”

 

* * *

 

 

“This is a beautiful town,” Capheus’s warm, rich voice commented from beside her as she made her way back to the cabin.

 

“Were you able to get what you needed?” Sun inquired from her other side.  Riley looked between her two counterparts and held up the bag with a tired smile. “Good.  How are you doing?”

 

“I will be better when this is over and I hear his voice in my mind again.” 

 

Despite the fact that she tried to say it softly, a pair of young girls walking by gave her wary looks and whispered to one another as they hurried away.

 

“Not only are you talking to yourself, but you are talking about hearing voices…should we be worried, Riley?” Capheus asked with a teasing grin.  The woman in questioned shook her head and giggled.  “I am glad it was not a far walk to the pharmacy, you look about ready to fall asleep on your feet.”

 

Riley knocked gently before unlocking the cabin door, and waved across the living room to their German counterpart. “I had some company walking back…thanks to them, I am sure some of the locals think I am crazy.” Wolfgang nodded to Capheus and Sun. Riley smiled to them as she padded past Wolfgang and went into the bedroom.  With a glance back into the house, she tugged the door closed behind her.

 

By the time she turned to face Will, Kala had already appeared.  “Thank you,” Kala murmured.  “It hurts to avoid him…but if I am going to speak to him, it needs to be alone first. Would you like me to take care of the injection for now?  You need to rest, I can talk you through it tomorrow.”  Relief stung her eyes as she nodded.  She stepped out of the room long enough to let Wolfgang know that she would be resting, left the door cracked, and welcomed Kala to take over her body.  The Icelandic woman sat on the bed and stroked Will’s hair tenderly, focus drifting as exhaustion finally began to overtake her.  As soon as Kala was finished, she stepped back out of Riley’s mind.  The sudden shift back into her body threw her off again, and Riley steadied herself on the wall.

 

“Riley?” Kala murmured.  Capheus was instantly with them, and Riley waved them off.

 

“I’m fine, just tired.  I will be alright, I just need sleep.  Go,” she urged with a chuckle.  Kala looked to Capheus, who nodded, and then back to Riley before vanishing.  Capheus followed her around to the opposite side of the bed, and tucked the blanket in around her. Riley shook her head in exasperation. “You all treat me like the little sister,” she complained halfheartedly. 

 

Capheus leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “And we always will, little bluebird.”

 

“Damnit Wolfgang,” Riley muttered as she snuggled into Will’s side.  Capheus’s rich laughter echoed through the room as she sank quickly into sleep.

 

 


End file.
